This time it was no hype. Sandy rampaged through New York, New Jersey and the rest of the Northeast. The damage has been enormous: more than a hundred dead, massive flooding everywhere, collapsed buildings, generator malfunctions in hospitals, multiple fires, city-wide blackouts and explosions in power plants.

This is the complete story of Sandy, one week later—a chronological timeline.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Sunday is approaching. Not many people are taking it seriously, thinking it's going to be another false alarm like Irene. But NOAA and NASA have published this global view, taken by NOAA's GOES-13 satellite this morning, October 28 at 9:02AM EDT. It looks much larger.

Update 5: Last image taken at 10:25PM EDT

Update 6: Latest NOAA warning as of 11:25PM

THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A LARGE AND RECORD SETTING STORM, WITH WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE, INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING, AND BEACH EROSION. THE COMBINATION OF THE HEAVY RAIN AND WIND WILL CREATE THE POTENTIAL FOR WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES AND SIGNIFICANT FLOODING. AT THIS TIME, THE MOST LIKELY TIME FRAME FOR THE WORST OF THE RAIN AND WIND LOOKS TO BE MONDAY AND TUESDAY. THIS MEANS THERE IS STILL TIME TO PREPARE.

Update 7: A full day of Sandy. Time-lapse video from 22,300 miles, from 7:15am to 6:30pm EDT.

NASA animation by Kevin Ward, using images from NOAA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies.

Update 8: "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers North Atlantic Division is taking action in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy"

Monday, October 29, 2012

Update 9: Full path of the storm till Monday, October 29, 12:40am

NOAA advisory at 2:00am EDT:

THE CENTER OF HURRICANE SANDY WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 35.2 NORTH...LONGITUDE 70.5 WEST. SANDY IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 14 MPH...22 KM/H. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED TODAY...FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST TONIGHT. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF SANDY WILL MOVE OVER THE COAST OF THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES THIS EVENING OR TONIGHT.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 75 MPH...120 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SANDY IS EXPECTED TO TRANSITION INTO A FRONTAL OR WINTERTIME LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM PRIOR TO LANDFALL. HOWEVER...THIS TRANSITION WILL NOT BE ACCOMPANIED BY A WEAKENING OF THE SYSTEM...AND IN FACT...A LITTLE STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THIS PROCESS. SANDY IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN AFTER MOVING INLAND.

Update 10: Latest NOAA warning as of 5:00am EDT:

AT 500 AM EDT...0900 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE SANDY WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 35.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 70.5 WEST. SANDY IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 15 MPH...24 KM/H. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED TODAY...FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST TONIGHT. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF SANDY WILL MOVE OVER THE COAST OF THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES THIS EVENING OR TONIGHT.

REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT THE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 85 MPH...140 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS.

Last image taken at 5:30AM EDT

Update 11: Latest NOAA warning as of 8:00am EDT

SANDY NOW MOVING NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD AND ACCELERATING... AT 800 AM EDT...1200 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE SANDY WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 36.8 NORTH...LONGITUDE 71.1 WEST. SANDY IS NOW MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 20 MPH...32 KM/H. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED LATER THIS MORNING...FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST TONIGHT. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF SANDY WILL MOVE OVER THE COAST OF THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES THIS EVENING OR TONIGHT.

Update 16: This is getting kind of scary—Sandy is hitting so hard that could really flood the New York City's subway system. Learn about it here

Parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens are already flooding and the storm isn't over the city in full force yet. That will happen around 4pm today. Take a look at these images, taken just a few minutes ago:

Update 17: Latest NOAA update, at 11:00AM EDT

Hurricane-force winds are expected from Chincoteague, Virginia to Chatham, Massachusetts.

AT 1100 AM EDT...1500 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE SANDY WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 37.5 NORTH...LONGITUDE 71.5 WEST. SANDY IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 18 MPH...30 KM/H. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED SOON...FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST TONIGHT. ON THE FORECAST TRACK... THE CENTER OF SANDY IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG OR JUST SOUTH OF THE SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY COAST THIS EVENING OR TONIGHT.

REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT THE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 90 MPH...150 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SANDY IS EXPECTED TO TRANSITION INTO A FRONTAL OR WINTERTIME LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM PRIOR TO LANDFALL. HOWEVER...THIS TRANSITION WILL NOT BE ACCOMPANIED BY A WEAKENING OF THE SYSTEM...AND...IN FACT...A LITTLE STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THIS PROCESS. SANDY IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN AFTER MOVING INLAND.

Update 27: A 4-story apartment building on 8th avenue and 14th street has collapsed, according to emergency calls on FDNY radio, says NYC Aviation reports

Building is 92 8th Ave, where "Muscle Maker Grill" is on Google Street View... listening to the FDNY radio calls. Lots of units responding, no one trapped though...Nobody trapped in collapsed Chelsea building, per FDNY radio calls...BREAKING: 4-story apartment building collapse at 8th Ave and 14th St.

Update 28: The water levels keep increasing. This is how it looks now in Williamsburg's riverside, in Brooklyn

"To evacuate or not to evacuate that is the question—at 184 Kent." by Deevee Kashi

"Across the East River, North 3rd and Kent Street at 5:00pm EDT" by Yale Yng-Wong

Update 29: Video of the crane on the skyscraper on West 57th Street collapsing

Update 30: Video and images of the collapsed building on 14th Street and 8th Avenue

Several explosions occurred.

"Here's a before/after of the collapsed building on 14th st" by Lucky Lefty Art.

Update 34: The electric plant on 14th street exploding, taken from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, across the East River

Update 35: A light of hope

Update 36: Oyster Creek nuclear plant has declared an alarm at 9:00pm, as water levels increase.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is continuing to monitor impacts from Hurricane Sandy on nuclear power plants in the Northeastern United States, including an Alert declared at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in New Jersey. The plant, currently in a regularly scheduled outage, declared the Alert at approximately 8:45 p.m. EDT due to water exceeding certain high water level criteria in the plant's water intake structure.

Update 40: Terrifying video of the sea invading a residential area in Ocean City, New Jersey, just published by CNN

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Update 41: Images and videos of the aftermath through New York and New Jersey

Watch one of the many trees falling.

This is how some of the fires started in Queens, New York. Video by Tina Amini. Read her story here.

This video of Atlantic City's boardwalk really shows the scope of the destruction. Some blocks are completely gone.

Breeze Point after the fires.

Update 42: Boat on the Metro-North tracks at Ossining, in Westchester County, New York

Things are bad north of New York City too. Strong wings put this boat on the Metro-North tracks at Ossining, in Westchester County.

Update 43: 7,400 National Guard members are now in the field

National Guard assistance to local first responders and the Federal Emergency Management Agency included support at evacuation shelters, route clearance, search and rescue and delivery of essential equipment and supplies.

Guard members were assembling and staging in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia, according to the National Guard Coordination Center, which monitors the response spearheaded by the states.

Update 44: Sandy, which is 1,000 miles wide according to NOAA, is also hitting Rhode Island

"House off foundation due to storm surge on Row Carpenter Beach in Charlestown, RI." by the NWS.

Update 45: These images of the MTA Subway show the extend of the flooding. There are stations which are completely submerged.

On a rainy day, the pump system is absolute chaos, to the point where the MTA-NYC's Metropolitan Transportation Authority-lives in permanent panic, fearing events like Sandy every year. "At some point, it would be too much to handle," said the head of the hydraulics team back in 2006, Peter Velasquez Jr., "you've got rain plus wind. It basically would shut down the system. You hope not. You pray that it doesn't.

"To give you an idea about how bad this could be, some of the oldest pumps in the NYCTA system were bought second-hand from the builders of the Panama Canal. I worked for the TA many years ago and even then the pumps were considered a serious problem. The Panama Canal was finished in 1914."

Update 46: The Long Island Rail Road tunnel getting flooded by Sandy.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Update 47: There are new fires in Brooklyn and Staten Island, according to the FDNY

Update 48: The FDNY has reported the official count of houses "burned to the ground" in Breezy Point, Queen: 110 homes. Here are some photos from there, just published by the FDNY

Update 49: Another shot:

Update 50: Some good news: Sandy is dying, according to NOAA. Here's a picture taken by NASA/NOAA GOES-13 satellite at 9:10am EDT

AT 0500 AM EDT...0900 UTC...THERE WAS NO DISCERNIBLE SURFACECIRCULATION FOR THE REMNANTS OF SANDY. SANDY HAS WEAKENED INTO ASURFACE TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.

Update 51: The NYC subway is still offline, but bus lines are coming back to life. The MTA just posted this a few minutes ago

NYC Transit and MTA Bus continue efforts to restore service following Hurricane Sandy. Bus service will operate on a fare-free basis today.

Local, Limited-Stop and Express Bus service will operate as close to a normal weekday schedule as possible today.

Update 52: Another photo of a subway station flooded. Unlike the South Ferry and Whitehall Street station, the 86 street one is only partially flooded

Update 53: Sandy's furious attack and disintegration

GIF

The latest video from NASA/NOAA GOES-13 satellite shows Sandy from Monday, October 29 at 9:55am EDT-as it was ramping up to attack New Jersey and New York-to October 31, 10:02am EDT, just a few minutes ago. You can clearly see all its fury and how it's been disintegrating during the past hours. Here's the full video:

Update 54: Here's the full timelapse of Sandy as it went through NYC. You can see the city lights going down

Update 60: The situation in gas stations is bad, as electricity have left pumps dead in many places. The traffic in and out of Manhattan is terrible too at rush hour.

Update 61: Sadly, while Manhattan will be fully lit tomorrow or Saturday, some Con Edison costumers will not get power back any time soon.

They are saying ten more days of wait for "the vast majority" of customers knocked down by Sandy. Some will have to wait until the end of the month. Right now, the amount of unpowered customers is about 600,000, down from 850,000.

Update 62: Just a great photo of kids in New York. We're moving forward. No further comment needed.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Update 63: The situation is more or less the same as yesterday: mass lines for buses and gas stations and traffic jams. Con Edison keeps working to restore power in Lower Manhattan. Subway between Brooklyn and Manhattan may resume within hours, says New York's Governor.

The MTA is hopeful that the No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 lines and trains that travel over the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges — the B,D,N, Q, J, M and Z will have Brooklyn-Manhattan service by day's end, the Daily News has learned.

But, right now, this is what the subway situation looks like (see the PDF here):

Update 64: Other services are being restarted too, albeit slowly: Staten Island Ferry service was restored this morning The US Coast Guard reports on other maritime and river services:

This is really good news. It means that the subway power-up of many lines is also imminent. Sadly, this doesn't mean that we are free from the blackout yet. Many people still need power in parts of New York and New Jersey.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Update 68: The South Ferry subway station, which completely full of water up to its entrance, is recovering. Check out this image by the MTA:

Update 69: While most of Manhattan now has power, the situation is still bad in Staten Island, some parts of Brooklyn and New Jersey.

Update 70: Con Edison has now restored power to 70 percent of the people affected by Sany.

Con Edison crews have restored electricity to more than 700,000 customers, or approximately 70 percent of all those who lost power since Hurricane Sandy slammed through New York. Nearly 950,000 Con Edison customers were affected by the storm.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Update 71: The MTA reports that the South Ferry subway station is now completely dry.

The South Ferry station, which had been a large fish tank, has now been pumped dry.

Before:

After:

It's not over yet

It's only been a week since Sandy struck, but it seems like a month already. The drama continues everywhere. There are still hundreds of thousands of people without power. Many don't have a home to return to. The recovery is going to take months and the damage is not only in New York and New Jersey, but through the entire Eastern Seaboard. Many have lost everything in the United States and in the Caribbean.

FEMA, the National Guard, fire departments, police forces, and non-governmental organizations like the Red Cross are working hard through New York, New Jersey and the rest of the affected states declared emergency areas by President Obama. Their work has been amazing so far, but there's still a long road ahead.